Steel guitar is:
- A method of playing slide guitar using a steel. Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the Guitar. Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the Guitar. Resonator guitars, including round necked varieties, are particularly suitable for this style, but other types are also used, usually with modified high actions, as well as instruments produced specifically for the purpose. A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more metal cones ( Resonators ' instead of the
- A specialised instrument built for playing in steel guitar fashion. These are of several types:
- Lap steel guitar, which may be:
- Lap slide guitar, with a conventional wooden guitar box. The lap steel guitar is a type of Steel guitar, from which other types developed A lap slide guitar is a conventional (non- resonator) acoustic Guitar that is played in Lap steel guitar fashion
- The square-necked variety of resonator guitar. A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more metal cones ( Resonators ' instead of the
- Electric lap steel guitar.
- Electric table steel guitar. The table steel guitar is a type of electric Steel guitar intermediate between the Lap steel guitar and the Pedal steel guitar.
- Electric pedal steel guitar. The pedal steel guitar is a type of Electric guitar that uses a metal slide to stop the strings rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar
- Lap steel guitar, which may be:
The name steel guitar comes not from the material of which the guitar is made, but from the name of the steel, a slide held in the left hand. Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the Guitar.
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Technique
Steel guitar refers to a method of playing on a guitar held horizontally, with the strings uppermost and the bass strings towards the player, and using a type of slide called a steel above the fingerboard rather than fretting the strings with the fingers. James Michael Thompson is the co-designer and sole player of the world first Ellis 8 string baritone tricone Resonator guitar. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the Guitar. This may be done with any guitar, but is most common on instruments designed and produced for this style of playing.
The technique was invented and popularized in Hawaii, thus the lap steel guitar is sometimes known as the Hawaiian guitar, particularly in documents from the early 1900s. The State of Hawaii ( or həˈwaɪʔiː Hawaiian: Mokuāina o Hawaii) is a state in the United States located on an Archipelago in the However in Hawaiian music, Hawaiian guitar means slack string guitar, played in the conventional or Spanish position. The music of Hawaii includes an array of traditional and popular styles ranging from native Hawaiian folk music to modern rock and hip hop. Slack-key guitar is a fingerstyle genre of guitar music that originated in Hawai{{okina}}i.
Steel guitar technique also developed from bottleneck guitar, which is a similar technique to steel guitar but with the guitar held in the conventional position, and using a different form of slide to accommodate this playing position. Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the Guitar.
Instruments
A Steel Guitar is one designed to be played in steel guitar fashion.
Historically, these have been of many types, but two dominate:
- Resonator guitars, particularly the square-necked variety which can only be played in steel guitar fashion. A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more metal cones ( Resonators ' instead of the
- Electric instruments, starting with electric lap steel guitars and developing through the console steel guitar to the pedal steel guitar. The lap steel guitar is a type of Steel guitar, from which other types developed The table steel guitar is a type of electric Steel guitar intermediate between the Lap steel guitar and the Pedal steel guitar. The pedal steel guitar is a type of Electric guitar that uses a metal slide to stop the strings rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar
Lap steel guitar
The lap steel typically has 6 strings and is tuned to either standard guitar tuning, or an open chord. The lap steel guitar is a type of Steel guitar, from which other types developed The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles Guitar tunings are differing pitch arrangements of open (unfretted strings used for the Guitar. It differs from a conventional or Spanish guitar in having a higher action and often a neck that is square in cross section. The frets, unused in steel style playing, may be replaced by markers.
There are three main types:
- Lap slide guitars, which are acoustic instruments but may have electric pickups for amplification in addition. A lap slide guitar is a conventional (non- resonator) acoustic Guitar that is played in Lap steel guitar fashion
- Resonator guitars, which are also acoustic instruments but may have pickups for amplification in addition. A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more metal cones ( Resonators ' instead of the
- Electric lap steel guitars, which are normally solid body. A solid body electric instrument is a String instrument such as a guitar, bass or Violin built without its normal Sound box and relying
Early lap steel guitars were Spanish guitars modified by raising both the bridge and head nut. A bridge is a device for supporting the strings on a Stringed instrument and transmitting the Vibration of those strings to some other structural component The nut of a String instrument is a small piece of hard material which supports the strings at the end closest to the Headstock or scroll. The string height at the head nut was raised to about half an inch by using a head nut converter or converter nut. This type of guitar is claimed to have been invented in about 1889 by Joseph Kekuku in Hawaii. Joseph Kekuku (1874-1932 is regarded as the inventor of the Steel guitar. The State of Hawaii ( or həˈwaɪʔiː Hawaiian: Mokuāina o Hawaii) is a state in the United States located on an Archipelago in the
Some lap slide guitars, particularly those of Weissenborn and their imitators, have two 6-string necks, but electric and resonator lap steel guitars are normally single neck instruments. Weissenborn or H Weissenborn is a brand of Lap slide guitar manufactured by Hermann Weissenborn in Los Angeles
Square-necked resonator guitars are always played in lap steel fashion, and so are specialised lap steel guitars. Round-necked varieties can be played in lap steel fashion, with some restrictions on the available tunings, but can also be played in Spanish position.
The Rickenbacker frying pan, an electric lap steel guitar produced from 1931 to 1939, was the first commercially successful solid body guitar. For the American WWI fighter pilot see Eddie Rickenbacker. For the airport see Rickenbacker International Airport. A solid body electric instrument is a String instrument such as a guitar, bass or Violin built without its normal Sound box and relying
Console steel guitar
The console steel guitar is an electric instrument, intermediate between the lap steel from which it developed and the pedal steel which in turn developed from the console steel. The table steel guitar is a type of electric Steel guitar intermediate between the Lap steel guitar and the Pedal steel guitar. The table steel guitar is a type of electric Steel guitar intermediate between the Lap steel guitar and the Pedal steel guitar. There are no pedals, so the player has only as many tunings available as there are necks.
The development of the lap steel guitar into the console steel guitar saw the introduction of amplification as standard, multiple necks, and additional strings on each neck, first to seven, and eight strings per neck is now common. One, two, three and four neck instruments are not uncommon. The two neck, eight string per neck configuration is particularly favoured in Hawaiian music. The music of Hawaii includes an array of traditional and popular styles ranging from native Hawaiian folk music to modern rock and hip hop.
The distinction between console steel guitar and lap steel guitar is fuzzy at best, and some makers and authorities do not use the term console steel guitar at all, but refer to any steel guitar without pedals as a lap steel guitar even if playing it in lap steel position would be quite impossible.
Pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is an electric instrument normally with 10 to 14 strings per neck, and sometimes two or even three necks, each in a different tuning. The pedal steel guitar is a type of Electric guitar that uses a metal slide to stop the strings rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar Up to eight pedals (not counting the volume pedal) and up to eight knee-levers are used to alter the tunings of different strings, which gives the instrument its distinctive voice, most often heard in country music. Country music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains.
The extra strings and use of pedals gives even a single neck pedal steel guitar far more versatility than any table steel guitar, but at the same time makes playing far more complex.
Steels
The type of slide called a steel which gives the technique its name was probably originally made of steel, or the name may come from the legend that the first steel was a railroad track. Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the Guitar.
Many materials are used, but nickel-plated brass is popular for the highest-quality slides, which are shaped to fit the hand and as a result have a cross-section not unlike a railroad track. Nickel (ˈnɪkəl is a metallic Chemical element with the symbol Ni and Atomic number 28 Electroplating is the process of using electrical current to reduce Cations of a desired material from a solution and coat a conductive object Brass is any Alloy of Copper and Zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties Another traditional and popular variety is a cylindrical shaped steel bar that needs to be balanced between the thumb and the middle finger with the forefinger providing for varying degrees of pressure on the string.
Some cautions on terminology
The term steel guitar should not be confused with steel-strung guitar, which is a standard acoustic guitar that has steel rather than the nylon, cat-gut or brass/nickel strings used for classical guitar or standard acoustic guitar, and is built with extra bracing, a stronger neck, and higher-geared machine heads to compensate for the much higher tension of steel strings. A steel-string acoustic guitar, is a modern form of Guitar descended from the Classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter louder sound Overview Nylon is a Thermoplastic silky material first used commercially in a nylon- Bristled Toothbrush (1938 followed more famously by A machine head, also called a tuner, gear head, or tuning machine, is part of a string instrument ranging from guitars to double basses a geared apparatus The steel guitar takes its name from the type of slide used, not from the material of the strings. Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the Guitar.
The term Hawaiian guitar is often used for various types of steel guitar, but in Hawaiian music Hawaiian guitar means slack-key guitar, a way of tuning a steel stringed acoustic guitar which is then played in the conventional position. The music of Hawaii includes an array of traditional and popular styles ranging from native Hawaiian folk music to modern rock and hip hop. Slack-key guitar is a fingerstyle genre of guitar music that originated in Hawai{{okina}}i.
See also slide (guitar). Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the Guitar.
See also
- Slide guitar. Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the Guitar.
- Lap steel ukulele
- Lap slide guitar. An electric ukulele is a ukulele which is electrically amplified A lap slide guitar is a conventional (non- resonator) acoustic Guitar that is played in Lap steel guitar fashion
External links
- Central Illinois Steel Guitar Association Information about central Illinois steel guitar players, events, and shows.
- Steel Radio A Web radio station dedicated to the steel guitar.
- Steel Guitar Forum A forum where steel players and enthusiasts get together and discuss steel guitar.
- Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association An organization which promotes the development of steel guitar with worldwide membership.
- ProfessorString.com Guitar string research
- Steel Guitar Nashville
- Gerald Ross' Ukulele & Hawaiian Steel Guitar Website
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